Manjusha Patil heralds joy with monsoon melodies

The euphoria of performing live is irreplaceable for the Hindustani classical vocalist who will perform for Barkha Ritu in Hyderabad

Hyderabad makes Manjusha Patil happy because ‘the city is full of ‘kaansens’ (people who have a ear for good music). “Artistes can present music shows anywhere but we need ‘kaansens’ to appreciate it. Hyderabad definitely has such connoisseurs of classical music,” says the Hindustani classical vocalist .

Set to perform for Banyan Tree’s Barkha Ritu concert series, Manjusha is excited to be back in the city after seven years. Since the concert series is themed on the monsoon, compositions in Malhaar, Kajri and a few other raags dedicated to ‘saawan’ will figure prominently in her performance. She will be accompanied by Suyog Kundalkar on the harmonium and Prashant Pandav on the tabla for the concert.

While the monsoon evokes romance and joy, it has also caused havoc and misery in recent times. On a lighter note, Manjusha hopes Barkha Ritu will make people fall in love with the monsoon and its melodies and herald a joyful season of winter.

A resident of Pune, Manjusha, a Sangeet Natak Akademi recipient, established Sangeetacharya D V Kanebua Pratishthan a gurukul in her hometown Sangli in 2014, as a tribute to Sangli and her guru DV Kane (popular as Kane Bua). In praise of gurukul learning, the best system for focusing on learning classical music, she says, “Gurukul learning in the Indian classical system fosters, celebrates and carries forward the guru-shishya tradition. There is a one-to-one interaction that is tough in a music institute. And for a career in music, of any genre, singers need to have a base in classical music which is possible through a gurukul system. ”

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Manjusha performed only one virtual concert during the pandemic and ensueing lockdowns. That concert was for a dance festival organised by Ratikant Mohapatra as a tribute to his father, the legendary Odissi dancer Kelucharan Mohapatra. “I could never say no to guru Kelucharan, so I performed virtually,” she adds. The euphoria of performing live is irreplaceable for her. “We yearn to see the joy in the audience’s eyes and listen to their ‘wahs’ during a live performance. In a virtual performance, this experience is restricted to comments on social media, which is not the same.”

Banyan Tree presents Barkha Ritu featuring a Hindustani vocal concert by Manjusha Patil at Taramati Baradari on October 1, 7 pm; Tickets: ₹300 on bookmyshow.com